My first grinder was a Breville Smart. I used it for 6 months grinding all roast levels. I had read of some users getting stalls while grinding light roasts. I spoke to a customer service rep about it and he shared that there is a safety feature that stops the motor if a hard object gets into the burrs. Unfortunately, there is some variance in the amount of pressure that the burrs can experience so some o the units struggled more than others at light roasts.

I never had an issue with mine and used it for all types of grinding. It was a fantastic and capable first grinder.

The stalling is the only issue I have with mine. It happens when you have a light roast and attempt to do an espresso grind.

Len

"Coffee leads men to trifle away their time, scald their chops, and spend their money, all for a little base, black, thick, nasty, bitter, stinking nauseous puddle water." ~The Women's Petition Against Coffee, 1674

Bought one for 139 at a clearance outlet locally. It was produced in May and contained the updated burrs. It would barely make due with my Expobar. I overloaded the portafilter and was getting 27 second shots. I contacted them and the informed me that I could not shim the new style without contact, thus I returned to the store. I wish I could have got the shims locally. Thanks.

Bought one for 139 at a clearance outlet locally. It was produced in May and contained the updated burrs. It would barely make due with my Expobar. I overloaded the portafilter and was getting 27 second shots. I contacted them and the informed me that I could not shim the new style without contact, thus I returned to the store. I wish I could have got the shims locally. Thanks.

You should be able to use a normal shim, can't remember the size for it. I think Breville stopped supplying shims for the updated burr models, but some still got Breville to send them, and others just picked up shims at a store. I know mine could choke out a machine easily and adjust from there. Think somebody even just cut them out of post it notes lol.

16 pages, not much info on how it performs on the espresso department.

I have a Baratza Virtuoso. Needed some fixing so i went today at Baristech in Montreal. Nice guy who did the fixing, upgrading to Preciso burrs. Came back home, plug it, some beans in the hopper and 30 seconds later, stopped working. Will go back to Baristech tomorrow but i am a bit (lot?) unhappy with this grinder. Never been able to get a fine grind for a good espresso.

So being a bit fed up with the Virtuoso, i was searching for something not too expensive and found the Breville Smart Grinder. They are available at The Bay for 187,49 plus taxes and free shipping. I think i will give it a try. And it's easy to return the product in any Bay store.

It would be a nice kit with the Breville BES840XL that i have and give me great espresso, when the coffee i use is grind fine enough.

This post pretty much summed up my thoughts on the Smart Grinder for espresso use:"Re: Does anyone have a Breville Smart Grinder?" Since that was posted I received & returned a Pharos so ignore that recommendation unless you are willing to invest an extra $250 in mods.

I now have the Breville Smart Grinder. Just got it yesterday. Paid 205.56$ (canadian $)

And the Baratza Virtuoso with Preciso burrs upgrade is working good.

First impression after 4 espresso made with both; both give me a nice fine grind, and i did not go to the finest settings.

My needs are 2 espresso each day.

The Breville, regular price is 250, the Virtuoso with Priciso burrs is also 250. If i had to buy only one, it would be the Breville. They both perform the same from my experience. Which one will last longer, we'll see in the future. I am keeping the Breville and the Baratza for my friend.

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